Tainted Transactions: An Exchange
Jeffrey David Sachs, Anders Åslund · 2017
Janine Wedel&s;s "Tainted Transactions" makes an important contribution to the "Who lost Russia?" saga by investigating the nexus between "radical" economic transition theory and Western foreign assistance. Wedel&s;s powerful article focuses mainly on the negative effects of "transactorship" on Russian-Western relations. Russia attempted a radical reform, but unfortunately it stumbled. Even so, Russian citizens are better off than Ukrainians, who saw a much later reform and less privatization, not to mention the poor Belarusians, who suffer under a frightful dictatorship in a Soviet theme park. A substantial majority believe that the United States (US) and the West have weakened Russia deliberately, in order to exploit and humiliate it. "Average" US investors were not in a good position to profit from the corruption that underlay Russia&s;s stock market boom. If the Russian government or other parties retained control over the assets, and probably would be sold at a higher price.